Speaking1 swimming

Swimming, the most complete sport

06/10/18

5. Advantages of swimming

Index

6. Disadvantages of swimming

1. Introduction

2. Swimming styles

7. An inspiring swimmer

3. Equipment needed

8. Conclusion

4. How can swimming improve our health?

9. Bibliography

Introduction

Swimming is a sport, where you must swim as fast as you can using your arms and legs. There aren’t a lot of rules. It depends on the competition, but you have to swim from one side to the other side of an Olympic pool in the shortest possible time.

Normally, swimmers compete individually against other participants, but they also can compete in teams, that can be of 2, 3 or 4 people, and they do relay races. This means that they swim by turns, they have to wait for their teammate to swim from the other side of the pool.

Swimming styles

Front crawl

It's the fastest style for swimming on the surface. Done while face down. The arms alternate while the legs perform a flutter kick(first one leg and the other).

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Swimming styles

Butterfly stroke

It's performed face down in the water. The legs perform a dolphin kick while the arms move in a forward circle at the same time.

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Swimming styles

Breaststroke

It's performed face down in the water without rotating the torso. The arms stay in the water and move synchronously, while the legs perform a whip kick (like a frog). It is possible to keep the head elevated out of the water throughout the stroke, although the head usually dips in and out.

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Swimming styles

Backstroke

Also known as back crawl, is done while lying on the back. One arm reaches behind the head with a fingertip entry while the other arm is by the side. The legs perform a flutter kick.

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Equipment needed

The only equipment that is needed is a swimming suit, that has to be as tight as possible to avoid air bubbles in the inside of the swimming suit that can slow down the swimmer. Also, a swim cap because of hygiene and a pair of goggles to allow the swimmer to see underwater. Some of them also use nose plugs to avoid having water in their nose so they can breathe correctly, and they don’t choke.

How can swimming improve our health?

Swimming is a great all-round form of physical activity. It’s ideal if you want to be more active and stay healthy. Swimming can help you lose weight, improve general flexibility, increase strength, and improve mobility. It is very helpful to people who have problems in their back or neck because it stretches out those parts of the body. Apart from physical benefits, swimming also has psychological benefits, from only doing 30 minutes of swimming, it can improve your mood, make you feel more relaxed and to be less stressed. Swimming regularly can also reduce the risk of some illnesses like heart diseases, strokes, and diabetes.

Advantages of swimming

It can be practiced by everyone, despite their age, there is nobody too young or too old to practice this sport. You can also practice it at your own pace if it’s not a competition.

It helps manage stress, by swimming and channelling your energy and thoughts on doing this complete sport, you can feel more calm and less anxious.

But the most important advantage is that it is a whole-body workout that engages almost every muscle of your body. So, to exercise every muscle that you use when swimming, you would have to do multiple sports to achieve the same results.

It doesn’t matter if you are injured, you can swim because it’s not a high impact sport, and the water gently supports the muscles.

Disdvantages of swimming

Swimming in a clean pool is important. If the hygiene of the water is not good, you might get a fungal infection. The fungal infections can be created in moist and warm spaces, so the pool is the perfect place for you to get this infection if it’s not cleaned how it should be.

If you over swim, you can get your joints damaged and suffer from tendinitis in the knees.

Because most of the pools are chlorinated, the chlorine can be absorbed by your skin and by your lungs while breathing, which can cause skin allergies or respiratory problems like asthma. It makes your skin dry.

The most obvious disadvantage is the risk of drowning. This can happen mostly to people who are swimming in the sea or in a river because of the stream. It’s not that common in a pool but it can happen specially to kids and people who don’t know how to properly swim.

Inspiring swimmer

A great example of an inspiring swimmer is the Spanish swimmer Mireia Belmonte. She is one of the most important female swimmers in the world. She has participated multiple times in the Olympic Games and has won many medals (1 gold in 2016, 2 silver, 1 bronze). She has also participated in some Worldwide Championships and has won many times in the first place. Mireia has broken all-time records.

Conclusion

In conclusion, swimming is a well-known sport that is very beneficial for our health. It can improve our mood and make us feel less stressed. It’s a great sport because it exercises almost every muscle of your body. Swimming helps us reduce the likelihood of suffering from heart diseases and strokes. It also has some disadvantages, but they are outnumbered by the advantages. In my opinion swimming can be done by everyone and once you start this sport your life completely changes. I recommend everyone to give it a try.

Bibliography and sources used

Swimming stroke - Wikipedia Swimming | NHS inform 15 benefits of swimming: Weight loss and physical and mental health (medicalnewstoday.com) Advantages And Disadvantages Of Swimming - Find Health Tips – Mireia Belmonte - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

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